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Windows 7 & Broken Space Toilets on WebbAlert
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 05/29/08 at 12:05:47 pm
Windows 7 in a year? Not Likely.
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 04/07/08 at 03:04:00 pm
If you’ve been keeping up with the current events you may have noticed a quote taken from Bill Gates this past week where he stated - “Sometime in the next year or so we will have a new version [of Windows],”. Nearly overnight only in an internet of chaos has the totally vague comment manifested into an apparent product announcement from Microsoft.
According to Ars Technica (and anyone in the right mind) by using common knowledge of Microsoft’s release history and understanding what goes into a big software release such as the next version of Windows, there is no way we will see a Windows 7 release within a feasible feature as it’s being reported by the big media sources and much of the blogosphere. The comment was made at an annual developer conference in Miami where Microsoft also stated several times that Windows 7 is in planning stages and the development is slated to last at least 3 years from the general availability of Windows Vista.
To make a long story short, the article (which you can read here) concludes that Windows 7 could be in beta testing by 2009 but a retail release is more likely to be expected two or more years from now, not one.
Thoughts and photos from a HERO.
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 04/02/08 at 10:04:59 pmI’m not sure if everyone is aware of this but… I am a real live hero. It’s true, at the launch event I attended yesterday Microsoft told me that I along with all of the developers, geeks, and admins in the IT industry are heroes as long as we run their new software.
That new software is of course Microsoft Windows Server, SQL Server, and Visual Studio 2008. The all-new additions to the Microsoft arsenal offer endless new features and functions designed to make management, storage, and development easier for the rest of us. You can check out all of the details about the new titles and the launch events on the tour website.
This was my 4th Microsoft event, 3rd Launch event at the Minneapolis Convention Center (MCC). My first Microsoft conference was the Windows Server 2003 launch about 5 years ago and when I compare the photos from then and now not a lot has changed. There are more vendors at the partner pavilion and some of the workshops (or breakout sessions as Microsoft calls them) moved around but for the most part it’s the same event just with new banners and products to show off. Still, it’s a lot of fun.
Tuesday’s conference had a great keynote speech done by Gabriel Broner who is the General Manager of the Storage Solutions Division at Microsoft. Gabriel claims that he works in Redmond, WA but keeps a home in Edina, MN. I found that interesting because it is a ‘tour’ after all and the other speakers didn’t claim to be residing in Minnesota. I’m curious if Gabriel actually does have a home here or maybe he just looks up a city in each state he hits on the tour and claims he has houses there also. As if I didn’t already have limited free time on my hands now I’ll have to call random residents of Edina asking if they work for Microsoft just to get to the bottom of his shenanigans.
The massive convention center is a great venue for something of this size as each area can essentially have its own floor and each session has its own room. The Partner Pavilion where all of the sponsors had the booths set up was moved to the lower floor into an utterly gigantic warehouse like space. Totally underground, I didn’t even know it existed. In fact, MCC is such a large complex that while the Microsoft thing was going on they were also holding the Minnesota Sportsman’s Show along with another private conference simultaneously and there were still tons of unused space.
Having the opportunity to learn about the new technology is quite an experience but we all know the best part about trade shows is the free garb. I literally got a huge Dell tote bag full of pens, t-shirts, balls, Frisbees and magazines along with a flying monkey, USB charger, and a thing that untangles the cord on my phone. I also received a very nice Microsoft branded lunch bag but the crème de la crème, the big enchilada is of course the mind blowing $550+ worth of software just for attending. I received a kit that includes full copies of Windows Vista Ultimate SP1, Visual Studio 2008 Standard, and a year licensed copy (extended trial) of Server 2008 Enterprise. Now you know why I bother going to these things.
Despite snapping pictures with a camera being frowned upon I did manage to take a few more pictures while I was down there, you can see them all by Clicking Here.
Looks like I’ll be going after all.
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 03/25/08 at 08:03:13 pm
I recently blogged about the Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Launch Tour and the limited seating the events have this year. I was bummed that it was showing all of the spots as taken or ‘sold out’ for Minneapolis on the tour website and I didn’t think I’d be attending this event, I guess I thought wrong. I randomly checked the website today and to my surprise I had the ability to register for my city but only for a select number of tracks. The track system is essentially the set of workshops and breakout sessions that the attendee prefers but if you manage to get into the event in the first place you’re really free to attend any of the workshops you want. I immediately filled out my registration as a partner and I will be attending the launch event a week from today at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
Aside from the Keynote and loitering in the sponsors pavilion some of the workshops I hope to sit in on include – ‘What’s new in Windows Server 2008‘, ‘Reach End-Users with Next Generation Web Applications’ and ‘Securing your IT Infrastructure with Windows Server 2008’. I’ll try to take some pictures while I’m down there and I’m sure I’ll have plenty to write about.
Microsoft’s Latest: IE 8 & Vista SP1
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 03/19/08 at 03:03:58 pmMicrosoft has been very busy with the software updates lately which to me is somewhat surprising. From what I’ve seen in the past when there’s a big OS launch in the works like Server 2008 they have a tendency to fall behind on their other promises.
Internet Explorer 8 although still in beta was a big surprise, businesses and end users are always going to be slow to adapt so for me it still feels like IE 7 was just released. The new Internet Explorer offers a refreshing set of features such as social community integration but more importantly Microsoft has worked hard on improving standards compliance. With the work being put into the new browser one thing is certain – Microsoft is not taking Firefox’s move into browser market share lightly.
For fans of Facebook, Live Maps, and eBay the new Flock-like ‘WebSlices’ feature will definitely make the browser more user friendly, but the attention to standards compliance is what has many of the developers buzzing. IE8 being able to pass the Acid2 test without issue marks a big milestone for the browser. Microsoft is also promising better AJAX compatibility with new features like the ability to use the browser buttons with the application, for an example: You could zoom in/out with the back and forward buttons.
Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista was officially released to the masses yesterday. Naturally, the highly anticipated service pack is mostly composed of performance tweaks and bug fixes but the sheer volume of changes as outlined in the release notes is impressive. After just one day of SP1 being available for download sources like Engadget are reporting various driver problems and software incompatibilities, then again is that really news when it comes to Vista? Personally, I installed SP1 onto my notebook last night without any issues but Microsoft reports that it’s still working on “problematic drivers”.
Will Internet Explorer 8 be the next best browser? Could Service Pack 1 become the end-all for Vista distress? I’m doubting it, but only time will tell.
Windows Server 2008: “HEROES Happen {here}”
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 02/27/08 at 09:02:55 pmHEROES! not just IT professionals. Today Microsoft officially launched the new server operating system along with their Visual Studio and SQL Server 2008 products.
After every big launch there’s always a national tour that follows and I normally attend the tours when they hit Minneapolis, but this year may be a different story. It appears they are now starting to limit online pre-registrations and Minneapolis along with many other big cities are already sold out. They haven’t done this in the past with the Vista or Server 2003 launch events but I guess I can understand why it’s needed; the Vista launch I attended last year was packed and apparently they are giving out full copies of the new software to the limited number of attendees (which they have done in the past, but now they’re advertising it).
The big theme this year is brackets, {like this}. Actually the catchy title “Heroes happen here.” caught me off guard, I didn’t know if it was the official launch tour or a private seminar/bootcamp like the TS2 Partner events. The event website has all of the details about the different workshops and things they will have going on, although most of the content requires you to have the Microsoft Silverlight plug-in which they almost force you to download throughout the website.
Anyway, almost every Microsoft event I’ve gone to I have received $100’s worth in software and goodies completely free. That in addition to the information, seminars, and workshops they offer definitely makes it worth every bit of your time. I just might take my chances waiting in line at the door to get in this year but if you want to guarantee yourself a spot there are still many cities with open registration. Check it out.
Patch Tuesday, Meet Dammit Wednesday.
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 02/13/08 at 10:02:12 pmOver the years Microsoft’s ‘Patch Tuesday’ has become a familiar menace for geeks and IT professionals alike. Ever since the days of Windows 98, Patch Tuesday has been Microsoft’s opportunity to unleash the latest security updates into the wild for millions upon millions of Windows PC’s to download, at the same time.
Today I have coined a new name that from now on will be forever stained on my Outlook calendar and that’s “Dammit Wednesday”. Dammit Wednesday is when I come into the office to find all of our Windows based servers magically rebooted and I have to clean up the mess and cope with the analytical data loss. Dammit Wednesday is when I can open up bandwidth graphs and actually see the traffic spike when the 1000’s of subscriber PC’s go online simultaneously to download these updates. Dammit Wednesday is like having a 2nd Monday in the same week.
Sure I could configure our machines to wait for manual updates to be done, but going through each server and babysitting as it downloads a couple more-than-likely insignificant security patches takes a lot of time, time that I don’t have. The worst part about Patch Tuesday however is that it always manages to catch everyone off guard every month, hence the new Outlook reminder.
Dammit Wednesday, something we can all relate to.
Much like Courtney’s Top Secret Tuesday idea (except not as often) I’m introducing Dammit Wednesday, on the 2nd Wednesday of every month I will post a new information technology woe that I hope many of my readers will read and enjoy (or at least share my pain).
Sync Google Calendar with Outlook Automatically.
Posted by Markus Langenfeld - 01/19/08 at 02:01:04 pm
Here’s a little productivity tip I found for people like myself that want complete calendar synchronization between Outlook, Google Calendar, and a Windows Mobile Smartphone. I’ve come to rely on my smartphone to remind me of my everyday business, expenses, meetings, events etc. but at the same time I wanted the ability to access the same information in my Outlook at work and online with Google Calendar. Now when I have an appointment coming up my cell phone, iPod, Outlook software, and Google Calendar will all alert me to it, simultaneously!
By following this somewhat easy to follow guide and using this piece of open source software you too can enjoy schedule synchronization bliss with Google Calendar.
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